According to CBS Sports, news of the filing in the U.S. and Canada was revealed Tuesday by Lewis Gross, Gaudreau's agent.

"We were concerned that people were going to abuse the Johnny Hockey name, coming out with Johnny Hockey shirts and stuff and we wanted to make sure that did not occur. We felt that Johnny was going to be a special player and if he takes off the way we felt he could, he has the potential to have endorsement opportunities that could be very valuable," he explained.

"We've had quite a bit of discussion about what he might do endorsement-wise and we're trying to narrow things down. He's still just a rookie and want him to focus on playing."

Manziel earned the nickname "Johnny Football" in 2012 while playing at Texas A&M University, and went on to win the Heisman Trophy. He soon registered the nickname as a trademark.

Similarly, Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker Award, hockey's version of the Heisman, last year. He too filed a trademark application, in September.

While Manziel has struggled in his first season in the professional league, Gaudreau has netted 13 goals and 19 assists in 42 games.